


The Lawyer and The Geek

by merlins_sister



Category: Bull (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Coda, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-14
Updated: 2018-09-15
Packaged: 2019-06-10 06:34:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15285810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merlins_sister/pseuds/merlins_sister
Summary: The Lawyer and The Geek...that's who Benny and Cable were, opposites and archetypes. There was no way they could be anything else...could there?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: spoilers Season 1.21, Season 2.8, Season 2.14

If anyone knew what he was feeling, and asked him when it had all started, he wouldn’t be able to say exactly. Maybe it had always been there, moments when their gazes had met and lingered, however briefly, that should have warned him that his feelings towards their young cyber specialist could be more than what he thought they should be. It was inappropriate for him to feel like this, to have a crush on the younger woman, however beautiful, passionate and adorably geeky he found her. Not to mention smart… so smart in a way that made his mind spin, and, it seemed, his body tumble after it.

Maybe it had been the case with Simon that had tipped him over the edge. He had thought he had just been supportive and protective towards his young friend, not liking the way the other man had treated her but still wanting her to find closure after his death. That could only be the reason why he had stood between her and Bull, encouraged her to be at the court and to see what she had achieved, win or lose. But there was something else, if he was honest with himself, that was harder to articulate but seemed to be about showing Cable that he cared, that he was there for her, and maybe that he existed at all for her outside of work.

He didn’t blame her for not seeing him outside of their friendship and the work place. After all what sane person would think that a cyber geek, lover or all things modern and technical, could possibly have a relationship with a hand-writing, dictionary-loving lawyer? He would ask the resident psychologist, but there was no way on Earth he was having a conversation with Bull about how he felt, especially not now.

He looked up at the sound of the door opening into the interview room. He had called her ‘kid’ when he and Bull had been here earlier, a reminder to himself he suspected of the relationship he was meant to have with her. But there was no doubt she looked young and vulnerable in her prison issued coveralls, her hair still tied back into the small pony tail, her eyes and nose red from crying again. His insides constricted and he fought the urge to go to her, to hold her, anything to try and make her feel better. He would have to make do with what he had negotiated with the guards on his arrival instead.

Cable looked at the guard in confusion as, before Benny could explain, her handcuffs were removed and she was left to turn to him. There was the faintest hint of a smile as she realised what was on the table.

“I thought I could smell Chinese,” she said simply.

Benny shrugged. “You sounded like you needed a reminder of home.”

Cable’s face clouded again at the thought of her phone call to him a couple of hours ago. “I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to…I mean, I didn’t expect you to come over here this evening. I just needed…”

Her voice faded off and Benny again found himself fighting the desire to hold her. The guards watching them were turning a blind eye to the food, he couldn’t ask any more of them.

“Hey, it’s okay,” he said gently. “I’ve been where you’ve been, I know how scary it is.” He took a breath. “I’m glad you called.”

Her eyes lifted to his, lingered unexpectedly, before a ghost of a smile flashed on her face. She took the seat opposite him before she said quietly, “It’s nice to know someone still wants to know me.”

“We all do, Cable,” he reassured.

“I don’t think Dr Bull would agree,” she responded, sadness in her tone.

Benny squashed an irrational flash of jealousy. It was always about Bull, wasn’t it? Maybe not in the traditional way, but it felt like he was always there between them. When they had met earlier that day, her gaze may have softened and brightened when it turned on him, but that was only in contrast to her discomfort with Bull. It was him she wanted to change everything for.

He wish he could say he didn’t understand.

He shook his head. “Bull too, you’ll see.” He pushed a bag towards her. “Got some of those dim sum you love.”

Cable flashed a smile again before she reached into the bag and pulled out a bun, nibbling on it tentatively. Benny waited for her to say something, but when she didn’t, pulled the tub in front of him closer and picked up his chopsticks. He glanced up as Cable shifted, her eyes this time not meeting his.

“How did you do it?” she asked, her voice quiet.

Benny put his chopsticks back down. “Do what?”

She lifted her eyes back to his. “Get passed being betrayed. Get passed someone you knew and trusted setting you up and being willing to let you pay the price.”

Benny busied himself with stirring the noodles in front of him as he considered his reply. How could he reassure her when he couldn’t say he had forgiven Wilson Jessup for what he had done?

He glanced up at her, her eyes back down as she considered the barely touched snack in her hand. 

“The honest answer, Cable, is that I haven’t,” he said softly, keeping his eyes on his meal. “I still have nightmares, and I still imagine his face when I am working at the punch bag. I don’t know if I will ever get passed it, and I don’t know if I will ever trust in the same way again.”

He looked back up to find her watching him, obvious shock at his words on her face, before a choke of emotion escaped her lips.

“Hey, that doesn’t mean that’s what you will do,” he reassured quickly.

“Of course not,” Cable snapped suddenly. “You should feel like that, you didn’t do anything wrong. I did. I betrayed everyone, I was so stupid…”

She scrubbed at her eyes clearly trying to not let any more tears come and Benny finally felt something inside of him snap. Reaching out across the table he took her hands in his.“Cable, look at me,” he cajoled. “Please…”

Slowly she lifted her eyes to his, their gazes meeting, surprising Benny with that familiar jolt despite the circumstances. He forced himself to focus and considered his words carefully.

Squeezing her hands he said gently, “You did not betray us.” He ignored the snort of disagreement and continued, “You did make a really, really bad call, and you may have to pay a price for that. But none of us, not even Bull, think you did anything in malice. You were just being… you.”

Her nose wrinkled at his words. “What do you mean?”

Benny took a breath as he tried to gather his thoughts before, with a wry shake of his head, he said, “Despite all attempts to make anyone think otherwise, especially your family, you feel things deeply, care about people in a way that many wouldn’t understand. Sarah took advantage of her knowledge of you, knowing that there was no way you wouldn’t try to help if she persuaded you there was any reason to doubt what was happening.”

Cable shifted in obvious discomfort at his words, but her hands stayed in his. “She told me she was pregnant,” she said quietly by way of explanation. 

Benny tried to find a response but instead settled for squeezing her hands again, this time rewarded by a slight smile. “But that doesn’t really matter,” she continued. “I still broke the law, whatever my motivation.”

It was hard to argue with the reality of her words. Instead he said softly, “Maybe, but whatever happens next, I am right by your side.” 

Her smile spread, not the brilliant smile that could light up her face, but it was stronger this time. Her voice was still hesitant though when she checked, “Promise?” 

“Promise,” he said firmly.

She seemed to consider him further before her she let her eyes truly meet his, a soft spark between them before she said, “Okay.” 

Benny expected her to withdraw her hands at that point but only one left his, on its way to the dim sum she had lost in her emotions. The other stayed in his grip, and Benny tried to pretend that didn’t mean something more to him.

Because right now he was her lawyer, her friend, nothing more. 

He couldn’t be.


	2. Chapter 2

“Cable, come on…”

Benny’s tone was definitely moving towards irritation but Cable merely folded her arms and leant even more firmly against her front door. It was childish, she knew, but her run in with Benny at the record store in the Village had rattled her more than she had been willing to acknowledge. How could he think everything was okay? How could he think the promise he had made her at her lowest didn’t mean anything?

Not that was what she had said when meaningless greetings had faded into awkwardness and then short, angry words. She had just turned away, unable to explain why his lack of contact hurt so much. Because it shouldn’t. She shouldn’t feel this way about Benny being the one person who hadn’t contacted her.

But then there were lots of things she thought she shouldn’t feel about Benny.

“Cable…”

Benny’s tone was getting sharper. Cable fought the desire to open the door, clinging to her stubbornness to hold her steady.

“Cable, I am not leaving until we talk,” Benny said from the other side of the door. There was a very vocal sigh before a less directed, “This is ridiculous!”

Cable flung the door open, startling Benny briefly. Cable watched as Benny took a visible breath to calm himself before he tentatively asked, “Can I come in?”

“No,” Cable responded sharply. “You wanted to talk, so talk.”

Benny’s face hardened, and Cable felt a pang of regret at her childish reaction. But then that was probably all that he expected of someone he considered a child. It wasn’t as if she was that much younger than him, but he had quite clearly put her into the kid sister position, so why shouldn’t she play up to that?

Why should that thought upset her so much?

Benny took another breath, schooling his reaction, before he started, “Cable… what happened when we ran into each other…” He paused a moment as he considered his words, Cable distractedly aware that a man known for making powerful arguments was struggling to find the words to speak to her.

“What I said, how I reacted…I’m sorry…I don’t know why…” He lifted his eyes to hers. “Seriously, Cable, can I just come inside and talk?” He shifted awkwardly, and Cable finally felt something give in her. Making a show of considering his request she moved back into her apartment and gestured for him to step in.

Despite the circumstances, Benny looked around in curiosity as he did so. Cable felt simultaneously pleased in his interest and relieved that she had tried to distract herself that morning by cleaning up.

He turned to face her and for a moment their gazes met fully. Cable felt a jolt at the connection, their connection, and tried to ignore the pleasure and sense of relief it provided. She had still to understand why their gazes would linger, still couldn’t accept what that might mean. She would be damned if she would let it distract her from her anger right now.

Benny shifted again as his gaze dropped from hers. “Cable…I don’t know what to say. I don’t get what happened when we met.”

“Don’t you?” Cable retorted, her tone sharp.

Benny lifted his gaze to meet hers again, irritation and confusion in equal measures on his face.

Anger rolled through Cable again before she exploded, “You promised!”

Some understanding registered on Benny’s face but now words were tumbling from her lips. 

“You promised you would be right by my side, but since I got out and fired you have been nowhere. Do you know what that feels like? To think a promise like that was so easy to make when it might have just meant an occasional visit to a prison, but when I might…”

Cable pulled herself to a stop. She couldn’t say she needed him. That felt too much to admit. She forced herself to take a breath before managing, “Do you have any idea what your words meant to me that night? Do you get that I was holding on to the thought that you got it, and that you would still be there for me?”

Benny was quiet for a moment, obvious surprise at her words mingling with understanding and guilt on his face. “Actually I didn’t,” he eventually replied. “I didn’t think I was that important to you. I thought Dani and Chunk might…” He faded off and Cable felt herself sag a little. He pulled himself up straighter in contrast. “But that doesn’t make up for the fact, you’re right, I promised I would be there, and I wasn’t.”

He stepped closer, but Cable held her position. 

“You have to understand, I didn’t agree with Bull’s decision. I argued against it, so did Marissa.” He paused slightly. “But he is really pissed with you right now, and there was nothing I could do. I didn’t know how to tell you that.” His posture softened. “I didn’t know how to talk to you when I couldn’t change what had happened.”

Cable felt her anger start to melt away.

“I didn’t need you to make everything better,” she said softly as she took a tentative step towards him. “I got myself into this mess. I just needed…” 

Needed what? Why had she needed to hear from him more than the others?

She took a breath. “I needed to know you were still there for me.”

She shifted under his gaze, his head slightly cocked in consideration of her.

“But Dani and Chunk…”

“Aren’t you.”

There. She had said it. She should want to talk to them more, should be less embarrassed with them, but somehow it hadn’t worked like that.  
If Benny hadn’t known what to say to her after she was fired, he looked completely dumbfounded now.

Cable dropped her gaze and shifted awkwardly.

“I bought you a present.”

Cable looked up at his words, surprised to see him proffering her a bag.

“There was no need…”

“Yes, there was,” Benny interrupted firmly. “I upset you, and, besides, I wouldn’t want to see you miss out on a classic piece of vinyl.” He smiled at her, and she suddenly realised what he had done.

She took the bag from him, reaching in to pull out a vinyl reminder of her childhood, a record she had forgotten about in the fall out from the fight at the record store.

“It was still where you had left it,” Benny continued. “So at least I knew where it was, even if no one else would have been able to find it.” He smiled again, his face uncertain though at her reaction.

“Thank you,” she said, returning the smile before she gave in to the impulse to hug him. He started slightly, and she considered as he relaxed and pulled her closer, how it still felt so strange and so right for them to touch at the same time.

As the hug faded Cable pulled back slightly, their gazes meeting again, this time the connection steady. Before she could stop herself Cable lifted her hand to Benny’s cheek, letting her fingers softly trail over the slightest hint of stubble before she realised what she was doing. This time she pulled back further, separating herself from her friend, and tried to ignore the flash of disappointment on his face.

Not here, not now.

“Can I get you a coffee?” she asked in an attempt to get rid of any awkwardness.

“Sure, that would be good,” Benny replied with a smile.

As Cable busied herself with the coffee, Benny wandered over to her small, but growing, vinyl collection on the shelf. The mugs full, she took a moment to just watch him, savouring the sight of him again, before mentally locking away any thoughts about what that might mean.

Joining him in front of the vinyl, Cable handed over the coffee.

“Quite a collection,” he said, his grin teasing as he added, “For a techno geek.”

“Hey, I can appreciate vintage too you know,” she replied, matching his grin.

He considered her before gesturing to the records. “Strange…the one thing we have in common is the one interest we have never talked about.”

“I think we have more in common than we think,” Cable said softly, surprised by her own answer, and not sure why she had said it. His eyes were back to hers as he took in her words. Cable dropped her gaze, forcing herself to do so. Keeping her tone light she risked lifting them again and said, “There’s a record fair next weekend if you wanted to go?”

“That would be good,” Benny replied, matching her smile as she relaxed into his response.

He gestured with his mug to her collection. “Need to get you some decent stuff anyway.”

“Hey!” 

Benny grinned at her response, and, as they settled into some gentle bickering, Cable tried very hard to not think about what it all meant.


End file.
